Varieties. The Collieries.-A Mineral Surveyor calls the attention of the public to the alarming frequency of explosions of gas in the coal-pits of Newcastle, in reference to which he makes the following observations: Several years ago, my attention was called to consider the cause why explosions of gas were annually attended with the loss of so many more lives, in the district of the Tyne and the Wear, than in any other coal district in Great Britain; I believe I might say of more than in all others together; and the result of my investigations was, that the cause of their dire effects was to be found in the change of system which took place in that district within the memory of persons still living, whereby the number of pits sunk to the coal, from the surface of the ground, had been nearly diminished, at the same time that the under-ground extent of individual works had been greatly increased until at length, as a prelude to the dreadful events which have followed, one pit only, (like a deep well) has, in very numerous instances, been made to communicate between the atmosphere, that essential pabulum of animal existence, and the narrow passages beneath, on which from 50 to 100, or even far greater numbers of human beings, and many horses toil daily in digging the coals, and in dragging them to the bottom of this only pit! through which they are drawn up by machinery to the surface. These single-pit collieries necessarily have the pit divided, from top to bottom (by close partitions of wood), into three, and sometimes four divisions; down one of which divisions, it is essential to animal existence below, that a strong and incessant currant of fresh air should rush, enter the single and connected maze-like passage, of which the mine is made to consist, and after sweeping the whole length of close underground passage this current of air, mixed and contaminated by the carburetted hydrogen continually evolved by the coal, and with the carbonic gas either discharged from the strata or from the lamps and the lungs of the men and horses employed must at length arrive at the bottom of the pit, and in an unbroken current must ascend the same to the surface, through another of its divisions, different from that, down which the air descended. This ventilation of the mine necessa rily becomes imperfect and dangerous, whenever the length of passage through which the air has to circulate under ground is inordinately extended in length as has now long been the case in the district mentioned; wherein it is common to find the ventilation by single pits extended to 20 or 30 miles! and even, it has been stated and remains uncontradicted, to 95 miles in length! The remedy, then, for the crying evil of so many lives being sacrificed, is, for the coal owners to return to the system they or their fathers have departed from in this district; and, by sinking more pits, two at least to each work (so that one may be the downcast and another the upcast pit, for air,) to reduce each separate system of ventilation to the same moderate extent which they formerly had here, and still have in every other British coal district except near Whitehaven, where, unfortunately for humanity, the sea prevents the multiplying of pits to the working carried on far beneath if. At the time when safety-lamps were first cried up as a remedy, the writer hereof, stepping out of his professional way, stated boldly, in two respectable monthly publications, his opinion that a continuation at least, if not an increase, of this shocking mortality would ensue, if safety-lamps were depended on for common use in coal-working; and endeavouring (and, as he trusts, successfully because no answer has been given) to obviate every objection that could be raised to his suggestions, ex cept those from the pockets of the coal owners. To this subject the writer now begs earnestly to call the attention of the public, seeing that the evil continues, and certainly will increase, as long as the system complained of continues to be persisted in. Education in England.-The result of the "Returns of Education, by endowment or subscription, in the several counties of England, made under an Act of Parliament by the clergy of the parishes," shows that there are 159,518 children receiving education by endowment: such endowments amounting to £275,387. and that 415,651 are, being educated in charity day-schools, and 401,087 in Sunday-schools. Hence it appears that out of public or charitable funds, no less than 976,321 children of both sexes receive education, being one-tenth of the population; in the endowed schools the cost is about 36s. per annum per pupil, and the others probably do not cost 10s. each.-(Monthly Magazine.) Pentateuch.-Moses Samuel, Esq. of Bold-street, Liverpool, has presented to the Library of the Liverpool Athenoum, a Manuscript Pentateuch, or Sacred Law of the Jews. This singular curiosity is of very great value, and beautifully written on a roll of fine vellum, four inches wide, and upwards of 45 feet long; it is attached at each end to an ivory roller, and the whole is inclosed in a splendid case of crimson velvet. Sir J. Banks. At a meeting lately held under the patronage of his Majesty, it was resolved to erect a statue of the late Sir Joseph Banks, to be executed by Mr. Chantrey, and placed by permission, in the hall of the British Museum. The presidents of the different literary institutions of England, were appointed with others a committee, for carrying the measure into effect: and the sum of £1200 was immediately subscribed. New Multiplication Table.-Mr. Willich, of Dartmouth-street, has published a table of this kind, which is a very neat exhibition of the use of lythography in such works. The principle on which the table is constructed, however, is not obvious; it is quite a puzzle to find it out; and tyro's do not need to be perplexed more than they absolutely are with these matters. A young lady had a habit of saying "I wonder! before she asked a question.-"I wonder where papa is to-day? I wonder when we shall leave town?" &c. Her mother desired her not to use that expression, as it would induce persons to consider her very vulgar. "Not at all, madam," said a wag, "every one must allow that she is a very wonder-ful young woman.' Remarkable Speech. Mr. Cuff, secretary to the Earl of Essex, was executed in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, for the same offence which brought his master to the block. At the place of execution he made the following speech:"I am here adjudged to die for acting an act never plotted-for plotting a plot never acted; Justice will have her course; accusers must be heard; greatness must have the victory; scholars and martialists (though learning and valour should have the pre-eminence) in England must die like dogs and be hanged. To dislike this were but folly; to dispute it but time lost; to alter it impossible; but to endure it is manly, and to scorn it, magnanimity. The Queen is displeased, the lawyers imperious; and death terrible; but I crave pardon of the Queen; forgive the lawyers and the world; desire to be forgiven; and welcome death." Wonderful Calculation-Niewentyt has discovered by computation that in a second of a minute, there flies out of a burning candle particles of light ten millions of millions, times more than the number of the grains of sand computed to be contained in the whole earth. Important Discovery.-Mr. Lister has discovered a simple method for letting the hydrogen gas out of coalmines before it becomes explosive. He asserts that all the coal strata produce this gas when exposed to atmospheric air; that he has visited many mines that are not liable to explosion, which arises from their peculiar situation in the earth. He has found that all coalmines, whose entrance is betwixt the horizontal line, and the angle of fortyfive degrees, are not liable to the accumulation of hydrogen, the cause of which he proves from a law of nature in the gravitation of fluids. The explosion of hydrogen in a coal-mine he calls the ferocions rage of a fiery dragon, the safety lamp a muzzle to the dragon, which too often leads the miner to his destruction, as it induces him to work where the hydrogen has accumulated. The lamp not affording him sufficient light to show the fissures of the falling coal, tempts him to remove the gauze, by which not only himself, but his fellow workmen, are immolated in a moment. Natural History.-A fine specimen of the sun-fish (the tetradon mola of Linnæus,) was caught lately in the nets of a herring-boat off Peel, Isle of Man. From the nose to the extreme point of the tail it measured five feet six inches; from the tip of one fin to that of the other, six feet six inches; was about fourteen inches across the thickest part, and it weighed three and a-half cwt. Hey down derry down. This popular burden of old songs, is a genuine remnant of the ancient British lan. guage, and signifies, "Let us hasten to the oaken grove," the original is, "Hai down in deri danno," which was itself the common burden of many Druidical songs. Natural History.-A heavy shower of snails was reported to have fallen lately near Tockington, in Gloucestershire. Ground, to the extent of two acres, is said to have been covered with them. These supposed specimens of the sideral systems were eagerly purchased by the curious and the credulous, who will probably be somewhat surprised to learn, that they may pick up bushels of similar rarities in favourable situations, any morning between the hours of four and six o'clock. The natural history of this snail is accurately given in Montague's Testacea Britannica. Its name is Felix virgata, or Zoned Snail Shell. "It may be considered," he says, "as a local species; but is found in prodigious abundance in some sandy or barren stony situations, most plentifully near the coast, especially about Whitsand-bay, Cornwall, and in the South of Devonshire, where it is believed they contribute not a little to fatten sheep, the ground being covered with them."This snail occurs also abundantly in the neighbourhood of Bristol, and County of Somerset. On approaching heat they are observed to leave their hiding-place near the roots of grass, crawling upon the leaves and plants near it, and thus becoming visible to the superficial observer. From this remark of Montague, and the well-known fact that snails furnish much nourishing matter, it would be, perhaps, best for the farmer belonging to the field at Tockington, to turn into it a flock of sheep, which would soon crush the snails, in eating them with the grass, and they would doubly improve thereby. Green Paint.-Gastar, mixed with yellow-ochre, makes an invisible green paint, very useful for preserving coarse wood-work, or other articles. Ancient Drama.--Our earliest dramas were devoted to pious purposes, which in time became objects of interest under the title of Mysteries or Moralities. In the year 1437, when Conrad Boyer, bishop of Metz, caused the Mystery of the Passion to be represented on the plain of Veximiel, near that city, GoD was an old gentleman, named Mr. Nicholas Neufchatel, of Touraine, who was very near expiring on the cross, had he not been timely assisted. He was so enfeebled, that it was agreed another priest should be placed on the cross the next day, to finish the representation of the person crucified, and which was done at the same time the said Mr. Nicholas undertook to perform the resurrection, which, being a less difficult task, he did it admirably well. Another priest, whose name was Mr. John De Nicey, curate of Metrange, personated Judas, and he had like to have been stifled while he hung on the tree, for his neck slipped; this being at length luckily perceived, he was quickly cut down and recovered. Another of these mysteries had for its subject, the election of an apostle to supply the place of the traitor Judas. The writers of these sacred dramas, certainly had no more idea of what is called stage-effect, than the performers had of what is now designated picture in the play books. A dignity so great, so awful, was conferred in the meanest manner it is possible to conceive. There was no balloting-no soliciting for vote and interest—all was done quietly, by the simple process of drawing two straws, of which the candidate who drew the longest, became the apostle. We beg to apologize to our readers for several typographical errors in our last week's publication, arising from the hurry in printing it, occasioned by an unforeseen circumstance. Leeds Printed and Published by John Barr, and sold by him and L. W. Holt, T. Inchbold, and Hobson and Robinson; sold also by Sherwood & Co. London; Mr. Royle, Manchester; C. Wright, Nottingham; Wilkins, Derby; G. Leader, Sheffield; G. Harrison, Barnsley; J. De Camp, Rotherham; R. Hurst, Wakefield; J. Fox, Pontefract; Lancashire, Hudddersfield; J. Simpson, Halifax; W.H. Blackburn, Bradford; W. Turner, Hull; P. Whittle, Preston; to whom a regular supply will be forwarded on the day of publication. *Communications addressed to the Editors and forwarded to the Printer, will be duly attended to. No letters received, unless post-paid. Or, Weekly Literary and Scientific Intelligencer. "Imitatio vitæ, speculum consuetudinis, imago veritatis."-CICERO. "A dress well chosen, or a patch misplac'd WHILE estimating the happy re sults which are likely to accrue from any new undertaking, we are too apt to overlook the errors and disappointments to which anticipated judgment is exposed, and flattered by the alluring phantoms of hope, we are too eager to catch at the pleasures they offer to our view, without once adverting to the perplexities which attend the commercement of our design. Thus it is that every one feels a degree of embarrassment on such occasions. Each has a particular goal to which sooner or later he purposes to attain, and each on his procedure is exposed to the praise or to the censure of the babbling multitude. Some, unfortunately, though possessed of uncommon genius, but whose diffidence betrays them to the hasty judgment and insults of rancour and malevolence, are so wounded by the unsuccessful termination of their wishedfor event, that however laudable their undertaking might appear, they are never afterwards tempted to tread the same path. I know of no profession or employment that requires so much confidence and effrontery on the first setting out, as that of an Actor. In his presenting himself on the stage, whereupon many have trodden, and whose deeds have rendered their names immortal, be submits himself to the scrutinizing gaze and strict inquiries of both a captions and judicious audience. His dress, his gait, his action, nay the very tone of his voice, if rather too feeble or too harsh, will occasion the forfeiture of his talent in the dramatic art, and like a sprouting shoot behind the expanding foliage of some longer-lived plant, divested of the cheering warmth of the sun, suffers a blight and dies. VOL. I. [No. 3. Vol. I. But it may be argued, and also with some degree of reason, that an Author's first appearance on the literary stage, is attended with greater anxiety of mind to himself, and at the same time, lies more exposed to the unjust attacks and malignant designs of his contemporaries, than what is common to an Actor. All the evils which attend the one, are in some measure laid to ensnare the other, but the former can at least boast of one advantage which does not favour the other. Concealed under the dark shades of fiction, he may usher forth his thoughts to the world, and may walk the wide stage of learning, advantageously, viewing the worth or demerit ascribed to his labours, before he throws off the fictitious mask which veiled his real character. Those authors who are led by judg. ment to the choice of that profession, or those who from any stimulating motive, such as by the itching of that disease which took its rise from the dawn of is learning, and whose nosology His impatience to know what pleasure or disgust he may have occasioned amongst his readers, renders him totally unfit for any rational employment. What physical property this eagerness after popular favour may instil into the faculties of most of these notable scribes in their novation, I shall not undertake to determine, but on me I do declare, however preposterous it may appear, its effect was certainly narcotic. Thinking my readers may be amused by a recital of the adventure my imagi nation took in "airy nothing" I readily grasp this opportunity of engrossing their attention. "Thus far triumphant in the pleasing guile Of bland Imagination." After the publication of my first number, this intollerable anxiety of mind, and unutterable desire to know its fate, preyed upon my spirits, and showed me in a threefold view the calamities to which Authors are exposed. Concious of the various dispositions I had to please, I was afraid lest by the use of a frivolous and facetious style, I should create enemies in the grave and serious, and by descanting upon the prevailing follies of the world, and by laying down rules for the probity of conduct, I might be scouted as a dry and insipid moralist. Others would discard me as a scurrilous pedant, endeavouring by the most palpable designs to instil new maxims in their conduct and behaviour.-Then by intermixing reproof with bitter sarcasm, on an ill-timed observance of some trivial fault, to be at last dragged from a peaceful retreat, to ward off the blows of some severe reprover. These and many other drudgeries which presented themselves as likely to result from this newly-formed project, totally excluded every other thought from my attention, and while pursuing this train of woe, my imagination took her flight and presented before my eyes the momentary glare of exuberant prosperity, with the galling sting of disappointment. Elated with the flattering hope, and supposed success of any new enterprise, our imaginations permit us to see the object we so ardently strive to attain, but in the next moment present to our view the consciousness of an inability to pursue it. On the first flight of my winged fancy, I found myself in no better assylum than a well-frequented tavern, where I mingled amongst a motley crew of topers, who appeared earnestly discussing some political topic. Not feeling disposed to join the debate, I sought for some other employment, and in the act of turning to reach a paper, which lay upon the table, I accidentally cast my eyes upon an elderly gentleman of apparent respectability, who appeared absorbed in thought, laying one hand on a paper before him, and with the other gently supporting his forehead. After various conjectures as to the pur port of his profound study, I presumed to approach him, and was agreeably surprised to find his attention extended to the object of my search. This discovery constrained me to question him concerning its interest, and a variety of et ceterus pertaining to the work. At this moment, he was preparing to reply, when my busy fancy again took her flight, and after a confused train of ideas, transplanted me amongst a class of beings, whose business was totally excluded from any investigation of my own. After some time spent in silence, I was preparing to take my leave when a young man, whom I had previously noticed sitting in a pensive attitude, with his eyes fixed on the wainscotting of the room, addressed me concerning a paper which he at the same moment withdrew from his pocket. He said he had been ruminating on its contents, and had formed many unsatisfactory conjectures on its Author. Before any long controversy took place, I found myself and friend comfortably seated amongst a group of gentlemen, which seemed chiefly composed of the volatile spark and sedate tradesman. Seeing the company so dissimilar in quality, and their conversation divided accordingly, I greatly despaired of any hope of favour in this retreat; however, impatient to hear something of my paper, with the assistance of my friend, I caused the subject to be agitated in one corner of the room. After some trifling observations on its appearance, its author was again conjectured at, in quick succession, through the whole company, to all of which I listened with great earnestness, and had the satisfaction of hearing my lucubrations classed with some to which I aspire. All the known scribes of the town were invoked as being, Mr. Babbler; old and young, middle-aged and single, were questioned, for notwithstanding having adduced in my first number all the minutia of my person, yet some of them were so dogmatical aud obstreperons in their suppositions that I verily believe if they could, they would have persuaded me that I was not really the Babbler. My stile of writing was like such an one's- my sentiments coincided with those of another I made use of the tropes and figures that another did and so on they proceeded till they had minced me up into about nineteen - |